Fury of residents at waste recycling plan

PLANS to build a large waste management facility on a Leigh industrial estate have angered nearby residents.

Atherton-based JWT Waste Services have submitted plans to Wigan Council for a recycling centre on the Greenfold Way Business Park in Leigh, which will process around 1,000 tonnes of waste a day.

Rubbish will arrive at the site in HGVs, and the entire process will take place within the main building. with the doors closing behind the trucks after they have entered to try and minimise the impact of the work.

The site will also include a workshop, office space, cleansing stations for the lorries and mitigating measures to prevent ecological damage.

Residents on the nearby Hope Carr and Timperley Lane estates claim the site will cause traffic chaos with hundreds of large lorries passing their houses every day, and also have concerns over noise pollution and the potential problems with unpleasant smells coming from the site.

The campaign to prevent the site being built is being led by local resident Bernard Wells and environmentalist Peter Bowdler, with residents and business, including the Greyhound Hotel on Warrington Road, also objecting to the plans.

Mr Wells said: “I have a lot of very serious concerns that the operations they are planning will simply not work.”

The application is currently awaiting consideration by Wigan Council planning department. The council said it was unable to comment on the case until a decision is made.

JWT were also approached but had not responded as the paper went to press.